Why Harry Potter star nearly quit the franchise

IT'S hard to imagine the Harry Potter films without Rupert Grint playing Ron Weasley - but sadly, this could have been reality after the actor revealed he almost turned his back on the world of wizarding.

In a new interview, the 30-year-old explained he felt "done" after the fourth film, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, admitting sudden fame was "a little bit scary", The Sun reports.

"I had just finished my GCSEs. I thought 'do I actually want to keep doing this? It's a bit of a drag'," he told The Independent. "Because obviously it's a big sacrifice. You take for granted anonymity, just doing normal stuff, just going out. Everything was different and a little bit scary. There were times when I was like 'I'm done.'"

The three main stars became world famous from a very young age, including Grint (right). Credit: AP

Grint - who now stars as Charlie Cavendish-Scott in the TV adaptation of the movie Snatch - explained he struggled with constant paparazzi attention during and after the Harry Potter films.

"It's almost like having a split personality," he said.

"Sometimes it can be quite dehumanising to have people just taking pictures of you when you're out. To them, you are just this one thing. It's a weird existence. But that's my life. I can't really remember life before it. In a weird way, you become blasé about it. It becomes normal and you adapt."

If Grint had quit after the fourth movie, he’d have been replaced in this scene from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

The star added that he hadn't expected the fanfare to last as long as it has.

"I really did think it would die down after the first film finished and thought it was done," Grint admitted.

"If anything, it's gone [the other way] as people hold those films very highly."

When asked if he would ever play Ron in a potential cinematic adaptation of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (the stage show is set to open in Australia in 2019), Grint revealed he wouldn't rule it out.

This story originally appeared in The Sun and is republished here with permission.